The invention relates to cable processing equipment with a cable changer for holding several cables, wherein the cable to be processed is selectable from the cables of the cable changer and can be fed to the processing unit.
There has become known from application specification EP 0 915 538 A2 a cable processing machine with a cable straightening station, a transport station, a cable retracting station and a cable changer. The cable straightening station, the transport station and the cable retracting station are arranged in succession in the cable transport direction. Cables deviating from a straight line or from the cable longitudinal axis, for example with curves, bends, kinks or the like, are straightened by means of the cable straightening station, so that the cables after running through the straightening stations no longer have any deviations perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The transport station draws the cable through the cable straightening station and pushes the straightened cable to the cable retracting station and further to a cable nozzle at the outlet side. The cable changer serves as a cable feed device and consists of a frame displaceable in the vertical direction. The horizontally guided cables are held in a vertical plane at a specific spacing one above the other and are guided in tubularly constructed spring strips forming guide paths. For changing a cable the frame is moved up and down until the desired cable lies along the processing axis. The cable retracting station, consisting of at least one clamping device and a curve forming device, is activated beforehand, wherein the free end of the cable is drawn back into the cable nozzle. With the deactivation of the cable retracting station, the cable is pushed out of the cable nozzle by a specific overhang.
A disadvantage of the known equipment is that, with the tubularly constructed spring strips forming the guide paths, a specific spacing of the cables held one above the other is preset. Only a specific number of cables can be held per meter of frame height. In the case of a larger number of cables to be held, the frame of the cable changer is correspondingly awkward. Moreover, the overhang of the cable has a disadvantageous effect on the centering of the cable after opening of the straightening apparatus.
The present invention meets the object of avoiding the disadvantages of the known equipment and of providing cable processing equipment with a cable changer by means of which a cable change can be undertaken free of disturbance. In accordance with the invention a cable processing equipment has a cable changer, a cable transport device to select a cable to be processed, and a clamping device for each cable. The clamping device may comprise a clamping/retracting unit at the inlet side of the cable changer and a clamping unit at the outlet side. The clamping/retracting unit may be formed with the combination of a retraction cylinder and a clamping cylinder actuable against a spring force.
The advantages achieved by the invention are essentially to be seen in that the cables can be arranged more densely one above the other in the cable changer and thus the number of cables per meter of frame height can be substantially increased. In the case of a frame constructed to be less high, less mass has to be moved, which in turn makes possible shorter times in cable changing.
Moreover, the pick-up region of the rollers of the straightening unit can be reduced. The valley depth of the rollers is smaller, which in turn has a favorable effect on the roller spacing. Cable jams, caused by loose cable or cable loops which are pushed against the cable guide following in cable transport direction, do not arise in the region of the cable transport unit.
In addition, it is advantageous that the free cable ends after a cable change do not have to be cut again, because the free cable ends are firmly held. The free cable ends are also precisely positioned after a vertical movement of the cable changer for the take-over for further processing.